Page 33 of It Runs in the Family

“Who’s Boner?” Boone asked with a sexy grin.

“Ever heard of this thing called privacy?” I demanded, ignoring his question. I wasn’t about to feed his ego.

“Why do you have to leave Ass ap?” he asked.

“Jesus.” I started to shove my phone in my pocket, then realized I needed to come up with a plan B to get out of here. “Did you read far enough up to see that Ava bought a new Victoria’s Secret bra too?”

I could call Garrett, but he’d been in Waco an hour or so ago, which meant he probably couldn’t get here in time. I could try to get an Uber, but even before I was newly unemployed, I would have had a difficult time paying for that far of a ride. I could call one of my other cousins, but which one would actually come? And, more importantly, would they come if they knew I was trying to escape Billy?

“Who are you running from, Spitfire?” he asked, sounding serious again. He glanced behind me, but thankfully, I’d gotten far enough away from Billy to keep Boone from putting things together.

“Who said I was running from someone?” I shot back.

He looked like he was about to counter that, but instead he settled with, “Do you need a ride home?”

“No.”

“But your cousins ditched you.”

“Dammit,” I snapped. “Did you really read everything?”

“I read enough to know you’re desperate to get out of here, and call me arrogant, but I don’t think it’s me you’re running from.”

I looked up and stared him in the eyes, but I was struggling to focus. “Okay, you’re arrogant.”

“I’m serious, Iris,” he said, his humor gone again. “Let me help you.” This guy was like a chameleon with his charming and serious expressions switching back and forth. It made it seem even dumber to trust him.

But did I really have a choice?

“Fine,” I said in a snotty tone. “You can take me home.”

He laughed. “Just how every man wants to be asked to take a woman home.”

“We’re not sleeping together,” I growled.

“I never said we⁠—”

I lifted my finger and pointed it at his face. “Stop.”

He shrugged. “That’s not why I’m offering to take you home. Call me your knight in shining armor.”

“I’d rather call you a horny cowboy who’s giving me a ride home in his pick-up truck.”

“Who said I had a pick-up?” he countered.

“Please,” I groaned. “Every self-respecting man in these parts drives a pick-up. Or at least the ones who hang out in bars trying to get lucky do.”

“Hey,” he protested.

I saw the back of Billy’s head above the crowd, and it was obvious he was looking for me.

I grabbed Boone’s hand and pulled him toward the exit. “Come on. If you want to play my knight in shining armor, this is your time to shine.”

“I think you made a pun,” he said, right behind me. When I glanced back, he was looking behind us, trying to figure out who we were running from. I couldn’t see Billy anymore, which meant he’d either gone in a different direction or Boone’s large body was blocking him from view, which meant he was also blocking me from Billy’s view.

We hurried past security—one of the guys smirking when he saw me running out the door with Boone in tow. He probably thought I was dragging him out to screw him in the parking lot—something I’d witnessed in this lot more times than I cared to acknowledge.

Once we were outside and about twenty feet from the door, I slowed down and turned back to him. “So, where’s your car?”